Prof Gareth Inman

Growth Factor Signalling and Squamous Cancer

The transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) superfamily can act as potent tumour promoters and tumour suppressors and their signalling pathways are frequently dysregulated in cancer. Work in our laboratory seeks to understand the molecular basis of how, when and where TGFb superfamily signalling can act to both promote and inhibit tumour progression. Dysregulation of TGFb signalling is particularly prevalent in squamous cell cancers (SCC) and we are investigating the molecular landscape and drivers of disease progression in cutaneous SCC (cSCC), Recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) associated cSCC and Head and Neck SCC (HNSCC) using systems biology and functional genomics approaches.

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Biography

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Recent Publications

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Biography

Education and qualifications

1995: PhD, University of London (Ludwig Institute), Supervisor Paul Farrell
1990: BSc, Biology, University of York

Appointments

2018–present: Director of Research Strategy, CRUK Scotland Institute
2018–present: Professor of Cell Signalling, School of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow
2017–2018: Professor of Cell Signalling, School of Medicine, University of Dundee
2010–2017: Reader, Division of Cancer Research, School of Medicine, University of Dundee
2003–2010: Junior Group Leader, CRUK Beatson Institute

Current committee membership

Advisory Board, Institute Curie, Orsay, Paris
Editorial Board, Scientific Reports, Experimental Dermatology
Deputy Chair, FASEB SRC TGFβ superfamily Signalling in Health and Disease

Honours and awards

Ian Stevenson Award for Excellence in Public Engagement (joint with Dr C Henderson and Dr G Smith), University of Dundee, 2016
1st Association for International Cancer Research Fellowship, 2003

Funding

British Skin Foundation, DEBRA, Beatson Cancer Charity

Recent Publications

2026

Centeno PP, Chester C, Kanellos G, Ford CA, Cammareri P, Inman GJ, Jamieson T, Ridgway RA, Marais R, Campbell AD, Sansom OJ. SOX2 confers tumour permissiveness in a specific skin progenitor population. Nat Commun. 2026;17(1):304.

Smith CDL, McMahon AD, Inman GJ, Conway DI, Douglas CM, Paterson C. The COVID-19 pandemic has not influenced survival outcomes of head and neck cancer squamous cell carcinomas in the West of Scotland: a retrospective cohort study. BJC Rep. 2026;4(1).

2025

Bone M, Schreyer D, Treanor-Taylor M, Proby CM, Harwood CA, Leigh IM, Bailey P, Inman GJ. The landscape of long non-coding RNA during cSCC progression. Br J Dermatol. 2025.

Hurley R, Osbourne J, Inman GJ, Conway DI, Paterson C, Douglas CM. Pre-Treatment Serum Prognostic Scores and Survival in Curatively Treated Laryngeal Cancer. Laryngoscope Investig Otolaryngol. 2025;10(2):e70124.

Hurley R, Paterson C, Conway DI, Inman GJ, Douglas CM. Laryngeal Cancer in the West of Scotland 2014-2020: Trends and Survival in a Cohort of 867 Patients. Laryngoscope. 2025.

Peleva E, Chen Y, Finke B, Rizvi H, Healy E, Lai C, Craig P, Rickaby W, Schoenherr C, Nourse C, Proby C, Inman GJ, Leigh IM, Harwood CA, Wang J. Enhanced metastasis risk prediction in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma using deep learning and computational histopathology. NPJ Precis Oncol. 2025;9(1):308.

Spender LC, Watt DM, Baxter MA, Shuttleworth MK, Walker K, Savage AR, Clements HA, Kapelyukh Y, Bray SE, King SI, Wolf CR, Inman GJ, Walsh SV, Blyth K, Petty RD. AKT/mTOR as a targetable hub to overcome multimodal resistance to EGFR inhibitors in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Br J Cancer. 2025.

White SE, Schwartze TA, Mukundan A, Schoenherr C, Singh SP, van Dinther M, Cunningham KT, White MPJ, Campion T, Pritchard J, Hinck CS, Ten Dijke P, Inman GJ, Maizels RM, Hinck AP. TGM6 is a helminth secretory product that mimics TGF-β binding to TGFBR2 to antagonize signaling in fibroblasts. Nat Commun. 2025;16(1):1847.

Bone M, Inman GJ. Alternative transcription increases isoform complexity in Long Non-Coding RNAs and alters their functions in cancer. Noncoding RNA Res. 2025:38-50.

Pritchard JJG, Inman GJ. Rigosertib as a potential therapeutic option for patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa squamous cell carcinoma. Br J Dermatol. 2025.

2024

Carrasco G, Stavrou I, Treanor-Taylor M, Beetham H, Lee M, Masalmeh R, Carreras-Soldevila A, Hardman D, Bernabeu MO, von Kriegsheim A, Inman GJ, Byron A, Brunton VG. Involvement of Kindlin-1 in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Oncogenesis. 2024;13(1):24.

Derby SJ, Dutton L, Strathdee KE, Stevenson K, Koessinger A, Jackson M, Tian Y, Yu W, McLay K, Misquitta J, Alsharif S, Clarke CJ, Gilmour L, Thomason P, McGhee E, McGarrity-Cottrell CL, Vanderlinden A, Collis SJ, Rominyi O, Lemgruber L, Solecki G, Olson M, Winkler F, Carlin LM, Heiland DH, Inman GJ, Chalmers AJ, Norman JC, Carruthers R, Birch JL. Inhibition of ATR opposes glioblastoma invasion through disruption of cytoskeletal networks and integrin internalization via macropinocytosis. Neuro Oncol. 2024;26(4):625-639.

Kiourtis C, Terradas-Terradas M, Gee LM, May S, Georgakopoulou A, Collins AL, O’Sullivan ED, Baird DP, Hassan M, Shaw R, Tan EH, Müller M, Engelmann C, Andreola F, Hsieh Y-C, Reed LH, Borthwick LA, Nixon C, Clark W, Hanson PS, Sumpton D, Mackay G, Suzuki T, Najumudeen AK, Inman GJ, Campbell A, Barry ST, Quaglia A, Morris CM, LeBeau FEN, Sansom OJ, Kirschner K, Jalan R, Oakley F, Bird TG. Hepatocellular senescence induces multi-organ senescence and dysfunction via TGFβ. Nature Cell Biology. 2024.

Singh SP, Smyth DJ, Cunningham KT, Mukundan A, Byeon CH, Hinck CS, White MPJ, Ciancia C, Wąsowska N, Sanders A, Jin R, White RF, Lilla S, Zanivan S, Schoenherr C, Inman GJ, van Dinther M, Ten Dijke P, Hinck AP, Maizels RM. The TGF-β mimic TGM4 achieves cell specificity through combinatorial surface co-receptor binding. EMBO Rep. 2024.

Smith CDL, McMahon AD, Purkayastha M, Creaney G, Clements K, Inman GJ, Bhatti LA, Douglas CM, Paterson C, Conway DI. Head and neck cancer incidence is rising but the sociodemographic profile is unchanging: a population epidemiological study (2001-2020). BJC Rep. 2024;2(1):71.

Strathearn LS, Spender LC, Schoenherr C, Mason S, Edwards R, Blyth K, Inman GJ. C1orf106 (INAVA) Is a SMAD3-Dependent TGF-β Target Gene That Promotes Clonogenicity and Correlates with Poor Prognosis in Breast Cancer. Cells. 2024;13(18).

2023

Bailey P, Ridgway RA, Cammareri P, Treanor-Taylor M, Bailey UM, Schoenherr C, Bone M, Schreyer D, Purdie K, Thomson J, Rickaby W, Jackstadt R, Campbell AD, Dimonitsas E, Stratigos AJ, Arron ST, Wang J, Blyth K, Proby CM, Harwood CA, Sansom OJ, Leigh IM, Inman GJ. Driver gene combinations dictate cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma disease continuum progression. Nat Commun. 2023;14:5211.

Singh SP, Smyth DJ, Cunningham K, Mukundan A, Byeon C-H, Hinck CS, White MPJ, Ciancia C, Wosowska N, Sanders A, Jin R, Lilla S, Zanivan S, Schoenherr C, Inman G, Dinther Mv, Dijke Pt, Hinck AP, Maizels RM. The helminth TGF-β mimic TGM4 is a modular ligand that binds CD44, CD49d and TGF-β receptors to preferentially target myeloid cells. bioRxiv. 2023:2023.2011.2013.566701.

Wang J, Harwood CA, Bailey E, Bewicke-Copley F, Anene CA, Thomson J, Qamar MJ, Laban R, Nourse C, Schoenherr C, Treanor-Taylor M, Healy E, Lai C, Craig P, Moyes C, Rickaby W, Martin J, Proby C, Inman GJ, Leigh IM. Transcriptomic analysis of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma reveals a multi-gene prognostic signature associated with metastasis. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2023.

Bone M, Inman GJ. Exon specific oncogenic function of the long non-coding RNA PVT1 in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, a promising potential therapeutic target. Br J Dermatol. 2023.

2022

Cosgarea I, McConnell AT, Ewen T, Tang D, Hill DS, Anagnostou M, Elias M, Ellis RA, Murray A, Spender LC, Giglio P, Gagliardi M, Greenwood A, Piacentini M, Inman GJ, Fimia G, Corazzari M, Armstrong JL, Lovat PE. Melanoma secretion of TGFβ-2 leads to loss of epidermal AMBRA1 threatening epidermal integrity and facilitating tumour ulceration. Br J Dermatol. 2022;186:606-607.

Flanagan DJ, Amirkhah R, Vincent DF, Gundaz N, Gentaz P, Cammareri P, McCooey AJ, McCorry AMB, Fisher NC, Davis HL, Ridgway RA, Lohuis J, Leach JDG, Jackstadt R, Gilroy K, Mariella E, Nixon C, Clark W, Hedley A, Markert EK, Strathdee D, Bartholin L, Redmond KL, Kerr EM, Longley DB, Ginty F, Cho S, Coleman HG, Loughrey MB, Bardelli A, Maughan TS, Campbell AD, Lawler M, Leedham SJ, Barry ST, Inman GJ, van Rheenen J, Dunne PD, Sansom OJ. Epithelial TGFβ engages growth-factor signalling to circumvent apoptosis and drive intestinal tumourigenesis with aggressive features. Nat Commun. 2022;13:7551.

Smith CDL, McMahon AD, Ross A, Inman GJ, Conway DI. Risk prediction models for head and neck cancer: A rapid review. Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology. 2022;7:1893-1908.

2021

Dayal JHS, Mason SM, Salas-Alanis JC, McGrath JA, Taylor RG, Mellerio JE, Blyth K, South AP, Inman GJ. Heterogeneous addiction to transforming growth factor-beta signalling in recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa-associated cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Br J Dermatol. 2021;184:697-708.

Hollis RL, Stillie LJ, Hopkins S, Bartos C, Churchman M, Rye T, Nussey F, Fegan S, Nirsimloo R, Inman GJ, Herrington CS, Gourley C. Clinicopathological Determinants of Recurrence Risk and Survival in Mucinous Ovarian Carcinoma. Cancers (Basel). 2021 Nov 21;13(22):5839.

Leach JDG, Vlahov N, Tsantoulis P, Ridgway RA, Flanagan DJ, Gilroy K, Sphyris N, Vázquez EG, Vincent DF, Faller WJ, Hodder MC, Raven A, Fey S, Najumudeen AK, Strathdee D, Nixon C, Hughes M, Clark W, Shaw R, van Hooff SR, Huels DJ, Medema JP, Barry ST, Frame MC, Unciti-Broceta A, Leedham SJ, Inman GJ, Jackstadt R, Thompson BJ, Campbell AD, Tejpar S, Sansom OJ. Oncogenic BRAF, unrestrained by TGFβ-receptor signalling, drives right-sided colonic tumorigenesis. Nat Commun. 2021;12:3464.

Thomson J, Bewicke-Copley F, Anene CA, Gulati A, Nagano A, Purdie K, Inman GJ, Proby CM, Leigh IM, Harwood CA, Wang J. The Genomic Landscape of Actinic Keratosis. J Invest Dermatol. 2021;141(7):1664-1674.e1667.

Kumari A, Shonibare Z, Monavarian M, Arend RC, Lee NY, Inman GJ, Mythreye K. TGFβ signaling networks in ovarian cancer progression and plasticity. Clin Exp Metastasis. 2021;38:139-161.

2020

Birch JL, Coull BJ, Spender LC, Watt C, Willison A, Syed N, Chalmers AJ, Hossain-Ibrahim MK, Inman GJ. Multifaceted transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ) signalling in glioblastoma. Cell Signal. 2020;72:109638.

Smith HG, Jamal K, Dayal JH, Tenev T, Kyula-Currie J, Guppy N, Gazinska P, Roulstone V, Liccardi G, Davies E, Roxanis I, Melcher AA, Hayes AJ, Inman GJ, Harrington KJ, Meier P. RIPK1-mediated immunogenic cell death promotes anti-tumour immunity against soft-tissue sarcoma. EMBO Mol Med. 2020;12:e10979.

Wei Q, Holle A, Li J, Posa F, Biagioni F, Croci O, Benk AS, Young J, Noureddine F, Deng J, Zhang M, Inman GJ, Spatz JP, Campaner S, Cavalcanti-Adam EA. BMP-2 Signaling and Mechanotransduction Synergize to Drive Osteogenic Differentiation via YAP/TAZ. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2020;7(15):1902931.

2019

Hassan S, Purdie KJ, Wang J, Harwood CA, Proby CM, Pourreyron C, Mladkova N, Nagano A, Dhayade S, Athineos D, Caley M, Mannella V, Blyth K, Inman GJ, Leigh IM. A Unique Panel of Patient-Derived Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cell Lines Provides a Preclinical Pathway for Therapeutic Testing. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2019;20:3428.

Spender LC, Ferguson GJ, Hughes GD, Davies BR, Goldberg FW, Herrera B, Taylor RG, Strathearn LS, Sansom OJ, Barry ST, Inman GJ. Preclinical Evaluation of AZ12601011 and AZ12799734, Inhibitors of Transforming Growth Factor β Superfamily Type 1 Receptors. Mol Pharmacol. 2019;95:222-34.

2018

Badshah II, Brown S, Weibel L, Rose A, Way B, Sebire N, Inman G, Harper J, Kinsler V, O’Shaughnessy R. Differential expression of secreted factors SOSTDC1 and ADAMTS8 cause pro-fibrotic changes in linear morphoea fibroblasts. Br J Dermatol. 2018;180:1135-1149.

Inman GJ, Wang J, Nagano A, Alexandrov LB, Purdie KJ, Taylor RG, Sherwood V, Thomson J, Hogan S, Spender LC, South AP, Stratton M, Chelala C, Harwood CA, Proby CM, et al. The genomic landscape of cutaneous SCC reveals drivers and a novel azathioprine associated mutational signature. Nat Commun 2018;9:3667.

Purdie KJ, Proby CM, Rizvi H, Griffin H, Doorbar J, Sommerlad M, Feltkamp MC, der Meijden EV, Inman GJ, South AP, Leigh IM, Harwood CA. The Role of Human Papillomaviruses and Polyomaviruses in BRAF-Inhibitor Induced Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Benign Squamoproliferative Lesions. Front Microbiol 2018;9:1806.

Rose AM, Spender LC, Stephen C, Mitchell A, Rickaby W, Bray S, Evans AT, Dayal J, Purdie KJ, Harwood CA, Proby CM, Leigh IM, Coates PJ, Inman GJ. Reduced SMAD2/3 activation independently predicts increased depth of human cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Oncotarget 2018;9:14552-66.

2017

Cammareri P, Vincent DF, Hodder MC, Ridgway RA, Murgia C, Nobis M, Campbell AD, Varga J, Huels DJ, Subramani C, Prescott KLH, Nixon C, Hedley A, Barry ST, Greten FR, Inman GJ, Sansom OJ. TGFβ pathway limits dedifferentiation following WNT and MAPK pathway activation to suppress intestinal tumourigenesis. Cell Death Differ. 2017;24:1681-93.

Hurst LA, Dunmore BJ, Long L, Crosby A, Al-Lamki R, Deighton J, Souhtwood M, Yang X, Nikolic MZ, Herrera B, Inman GJ, Bradley JR, Rana AA, Upton PD, Morrell NW. TNFα drives pulmonary arterial hypertension by suppressing BMP type-II receptor and altering NOTCH signalling. Nature Commun. 2017;8:14079.

Phillips TJ, Scott H, Menassa DA, Bignell AL, Sood A, Morton JS, Akagi T, Azuma K, Rogers MF, Gilmore CE, Inman GJ, Grant S, Chung Y, Aljunaidy MM, Cooke CL, Steinkraus BR, Pocklington A, Logan A, Collett GP, Kemp H, Holmans PA, Murphy MP, Fulga TA, Coney AM, Akashi M, Davidge ST, Case CP. Treating the placenta to prevent adverse effects of gestational hypoxia on fetal brain development. Sci Rep. 2017;7:9079.

Rose AM, Sansom OJ, Inman GJ. Loss of TGF-β signaling drives cSCC from skin stem cells – More evidence. Cell Cycle 2017;16:386-7.

Spender LC, Inman GJ. Targeting BRAF-mutant tumours with TGFBR1 inhibitors. Aging (Albany NY). 2017;9:5-6.

2016

Cammareri P, Rose AM, Vincent DF, Wang J, Nagano A, Libertini S, Ridgway RA, Athineos D, Coates PJ, McHugh A, Pourreyron C, Dayal JH, Larsson J, Weidlich S, Spender LC, Sapkota GP, Purdie KJ, Proby CM, Harwood CA, Leigh IM, Clevers H, Barker N, Karlsson S, Pritchard C, Marais R, Chelala C, South AP, Sansom OJ, Inman GJ. Inactivation of TGFβ receptors in stem cells drives cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Nature Commun. 2016;7:12493.

Harwood CA, Proby CM, Inman GJ, Leigh IM. The Promise of Genomics and the Development of Targeted Therapies for Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Acta Derm Venereol. 2016;96:3-16.

Languino LR, Singh A, Prisco M, Inman GJ, Luginbuhl A, Curry JM, South AP. Exosome-mediated transfer from the tumor microenvironment increases TGFβ signaling in squamous cell carcinoma. Am J Transl Res. 2016;8:2432-7.

Spender LC, Ferguson GJ, Liu S, Cui C, Girotti MR, Sibbett G, Higgs EB, Shuttleworth MK, Hamilton T, Lorigan P, Weller M, Vincent DF, Sansom OJ, Frame M, ten Dijke P, Marais R, Inman GJ. Mutational activation of BRAF confers sensitivity to transforming growth factor beta inhibitors in human cancer cells. Oncotarget. 2016;7:81995-2012.

Spender LC, Inman GJ. Fatal attractions? Correlations of CXCL12-CXCR4-CXCR7 expression with disease progression in melanoma and Kaposi sarcoma. Br J Dermatol. 2016;175:1140-1.